2 yıl önce

Türkiye, Armenia reaffirm goal of 'achieving full normalisation' of ties

Türkiye’s Ambassador, Serdar Kilic, and the Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Ruben Rubinyan, “reiterated their agreement to continue the process without preconditions."

Turkish and Armenian envoys for the normalisation of ties between the two countries have reaffirmed their goal of “achieving full normalisation."

“The special representatives reaffirmed the declared goal of achieving full normalisation between their respective countries through this process,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

It came after the third meeting of Turkish and Armenian envoys in the Austrian capital Vienna.

The envoys discussed the possible steps that can be taken for tangible progress in normalisation, the statement said.

Türkiye’s Ambassador, Serdar Kilic, and the Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Ruben Rubinyan, “reiterated their agreement to continue the process without preconditions,” it added.

Kilic was named as Türkiye’s special envoy to discuss steps towards normalisation with neighbouring Armenia on December 15, 2021. Three days later, Armenia appointed its own special representative, Rubinyan.

Mending ties

The first round of talks was held in Russia’s capital, Moscow, on January 14, with both parties agreeing to continue negotiations without any preconditions.

The Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on February 24.

Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye on March 12.

As part of the efforts, Türkiye and Armenia have also resumed commercial flights as of February 2 after a two-year hiatus.

The two countries have been divided on a range of issues, including the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire and Armenia’s occupation of Karabakh in 1993.

Since then the land border between Türkiye and Armenia has been closed.

On October 10, 2009, the two neighbouring countries signed a peace accord, known as the Zurich Protocols, to establish diplomatic relations and open the border, but failed to ratify the agreement in their respective national parliaments.

Relations between Ankara and Yerevan entered a new phase in the fall of 2020 with the end of the second Karabakh war, which lasted 44 days and in which Türkiye helped Azerbaijan recapture its territory.

SOURCE: AA